Today, I want to address, what I consider to be, one of the most ill-conceived concepts in Christianity—just and merciful God. I have heard that term used by priests and preachers all my life, likely to the count of no less than a million times. As a child aged five, studying and being instructed in Roman Catholicism, until this very day, the barrage of such statements has continued incessantly. Early on, not knowing any better, I accepted that concept without question. However, as I grew older in both age and understanding, I began questioning the existence of such a god. Even though I knew the bible and general Christian teaching regarding God, the concept of Just and Merciful could not be reconciled with my understanding of God as being all loving—there was a disconnect which I could not comprehend.
Gradually, as I perceived all religion to be about power and control, and being bewildered by my lack of understanding, the basic problem came to light for me—the god of whom they all spoke was a pure myth because not a single religion nor religious leader had defined or was able to define the essence of that god—neither could I.
Knowing that I could not define God’s essence and knowing that nothing has meaning without an essential definition, I was compelled to embark on a journey of understanding so that I might be able to do so. Meanwhile, with ‘tongue in cheek’, I was forced to accept what I had been taught.
Searching for answers, I investigated every avenue available to me. The most obvious place to search was my priests. When I questioned them about God’s essence, the typical response was a scornful frown or retort— ‘Don’t be asking questions. Just do as you are told.
Information resources were scant before the days of PCs, but I read everything I could find. It became very apparent to me that the god I had learned about was schizophrenic. On the one hand, a human concoction dreamed up by the Israelites and patterned exactly after their own selfish, controlling, vengeful, and demeaning ways—their method was ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’, and so was their god’s method. On the other hand, I had been taught God was all loving—those two concepts just didn’t jive. Therefore, I had to continue my struggle to define my God’s essence.
Finally, after sixty years, my inquisitiveness was rewarded. I had known forever that everything in the universe was made of atoms which were composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons, but I didn’t know what the protons and neutrons were composed of. I knew that the protons and neutrons were responsible for nearly all the weight of everything—they love each other and want to ‘snuggle’ together as tightly as possible. However, I did not know that the electrons were responsible for giving substances the appearance of being solid—they hate each other and are totally standoffish, making most things seem solid.
Through my chance encounter with Quantum Mechanics (particle physics), I learned that the protons and neutrons were made up of tiny indivisible particles known as quarks. I also learned that along with electrons, photons, and quarks, there were several other indivisible particles which collectively constitute the substrate of ever gravid entity in existence. In addition, I learned that each of those particles is perfect in both form and function, cannot be further subdivided, is indistinguishable from its counterparts, cannot be created nor destroyed by humans, is unchanging and unchangeable, and not one more or less exists today that did not exist at the time of their release 13.8 billion years ago–are we not speaking of eternity? Are we not describing God when we speak of an entity which is perfect in all respects, is unchanging and unchangeable, and not only exists in eternity, but also exists in every material object in existence—a Perfect Rationality outside of which no truth can exist in this universe?
There, I just did it for you. Very humbly, I defined the essence of our God—God is a Perfect Rational being. That Perfect Rationality is present in everything existing in our universe—that Perfect Rationality is energy. You might object, noting that thoughts and concepts generated by thoughts are not material—I would respond that they are energy, generated, emanated, and controlled by electrical impulses running through the brains of living, changing entities. However, the Source never changes—It is Perfect—It Is God. It has no human-like head, hair, nor body, as we have been led to believe—do we not say that Jesus is ‘seated at the right hand of the Father’? Neither God nor Jesus has a butt upon which to sit—they are Eternal Spirit. Just as an electron or photon has no body, neither does God, of which they are.
So, with that understanding, we come to realize that God is everything and everything is God. Is God guilty of misdeeds? Can he possibly have ‘mercy’ on himself? I think not. God is, in fact, Perfect Love which means he cannot possibly reject any part of himself. Remember, we are God’s children—he is ‘our substance’— he makes up our essence’.
With that in mind, I would propose that we should cringe each time we hear that totally nonsensical proposition, ‘just and merciful god’—that’s the mythical god dreamed up by the Hebrews and perpetuated by the Jewish-minded Christians who formed the first official catholic (universal) church. Justice, of course, means we have done evil and, therefore, deserve punishment. Remember, the bishops who formed the first Christian church did so at the behest of Roman Emperor Constantine with his assurance that whatever they determined would be enforced by the Roman Army—can you imagine them not putting themselves in a self-serving, controlling position? —I can’t.
Religions, in general, and the three Abrahamic religions, specifically, have attempted to control us by making us feel ‘guilty’ for being God’s normal creatures. In so doing, they have fostered divisiveness, hostility, and above all, mental (emotional) illness. At one time, that mental illness grew so bad as to prompt G Rattray Taylor, in his very thorough and astute book, Sex in History, to describe Medieval Europe as ‘one giant cesspool of psychosis’. That condition has improved somewhat in modern times for one reason only— young people are ignoring such foolishness. However, the world is still chocked full of middle aged and older neurotics and psychotics generated by guilt driven religion. If you have not already done so, you could relieve much of your guilt by reading my three philosophy books. Wilderness Cry-a scientific and philosophical approach to understanding God and the universe, Peace in Spirituality, and Provocative Catholic— Amazon-Kindle, and handg@comcast.net. Also, it Is likely that many of you may not have read my little book, Growing Up in Fancy Farm Kentucky. I believe you would truly enjoy it.
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WILDERNESS CRY by Hilary L Hunt MD 